Arènes de Lutèce

Arenas of Lutetia

By Durant Imboden

Along with the Gallo-Roman Baths
at the Musée National du Moyen-Age in the Hôtel Cluny, the
Arènes de
Lutèce or Arenas of Lutetia are among the oldest tourist attractions in
Paris. The Roman amphitheatre, which dates back to the 1st Century A.D., was
once the site of Gladiator-style combat and other Roman entertainments,
with seating for an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 spectators and animal cages
beneath the stands.

ABOVE: The lions and gladiators are gone, but
much of the 15,000-person amphitheatre remains nearly 2,000 years after the
Arènes de Lutèce were built.

After the fall of Lutetia in 280 A.D., the amphitheatre became a ruin and
eventually was filled in as medieval Paris grew. In the 1860s, the arena was
discovered during excavation for the Rue Monge (now a major thoroughfare in the
5th arrondissement), and the dug-up ruins were turned into a public square in
1896. Today, the Arènes de Lutèce form the core of a public park that
neighborhood residents use for boules, bouncing footballs off the
apartment buildings behind the arena, and other urban recreation.

When and how to visit:

The park is open daily from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. during winter and until
9 p.m. in summer. Admission is free.

Of the three entrances, the easiest one to find is at 47 rue Monge, where an
arched passageway leads from the sidewalk. (See photo at bottom of
page 2.) If you're coming by
Métro, the nearest stops are Cardinal Lemoine
(Line 10), Jussieu (Lines 7 and 10), and Place Monge (Line 7).